Page 63 of Point Proven
I didn’t deserve to be here.
I didn’t deserve to live.
My stupidity. My inability to keep my mouth shut. My anger.
It was all… It was allmyfucking fault.
Iron creaked, but it was muffled by my spiral, footfalls like pitiful spikes of my increasing heart rate. Unaware of the nightmare beside me, his fingers tangled in my hair, using that grip to crane my attention tohim.
“...and the best part?Thorne Gravesis fucking dead.”
A guttural scream echoed throughout the cell, and it was then that I realized it came from me. Thrashing against Stefan, my fight and will to keep going weakened; each punch I threw was nothing more than a pathetic jab. My body trembled with his admission, and I heaved, but nothing came out.
“N-No… No. No. No. No?—”
“Bullet to the stomach, and dead before he was even transported to the hospital.” Pure joy lit his face as he leaned closer to press a kiss to my forehead. “With him gone, there’s nothing to prevent me from collecting Simon. Hmm, maybe I should fuck you?—”
With my mind settled on one thing, I freed the gun from his holster and released the safety. Resting the barrel against my head, I held his stare, and that flash of fear, that rise of concern, told me all I needed to know.
He valued me too much, and he knew I was seconds away from ripping his prized possession away from him.
Finger gliding along the trigger, I took one final inhale, savoring the last ounce of oxygen I’d ever breathe in this life. I only hoped that Simon would forgive me for my inability to stay strong, for my failure to protect the children who were trapped with me, for my inability?—
With a quick shove to my wrist, the weapon shifted, the bullet firing into the ceiling as Stefan yanked it from me with natural grace. Flicking on the safety, he tossed it across the room as his hands cradled my cheeks.
“You… Why did you do that?Why?” he shouted, shaking me as a mixture of terror and wrath flooded his darkened pupils.
“Because I want todie!” I yelled, my sobs racking my frame. “Y-You killed them because of me… You killed… You… I can’t… I can’t… I can’t?—”
“To punish you, not… not to make you take your life?—”
“Thenyoudo it! Because I can fucking… I can promise… I will… I will kill myself, Stefan. I can’t… I can’t take this shit anymore! I-I?—”
Lips pressed against mine, he cut off my sentence as his tongue swiped across my teeth. Everything within me recoiled, fingers clawing into his arms, but he held firm, claiming me withhis desires. When I thought I’d have to endure it for longer, he pulled away, his pants mingling with my heaves.
“Because I love you, Liam!”
“Thisis notlove!” Slamming my palms into his chest, my cries fractured my words. “T-This… This… This ishell!”
Jaw feathering, he pushed my hands away. “Then you’ll remain in hell if it keeps you here next to me. I’llproveit to you. You’ll see after Simon’s cut into pieces. You’ll get it then.”
“Leave… Leave him alone… Stefan… I can’t… I can’t fucking do this… I can’t…” My bottom lip quivered, that vice cinching down on my chest with an intensity that forced the air from my lungs. “Please… Please, I can’t…”
“Shh.” Stroking my hair, his eyes softened. “You’ll understand after, I promise. You’ll see this iscorrect. And if you try to hurt yourself again, I’ll kill everyone in this fucking building. I have other compounds, so you know I have the bodies to spare. Don’t test me, little lamb.”
It was desperation that led to my action, my fingers curling around his arm. “S-Stefan,please…”
Hauling me against his chest, he rubbed my back. “It’s alright. He influences you, but it’ll all end the moment I carve his heart from his chest.”
A harsh, muffled sob was my only response as I shook my head furiously. Burying my face into his chest, I sought the only ounce of comfort I had, the only person who would hold me, even though the idea of him was beyond repulsive.
“Please… Just… Send me to another compound… Don’t… Stefan… I w-won’t survive if you… If you kill him…”
“I’m ridding you of a cancer?—”
“No,please!” I screamed, clinging to him.“Please!”
“I’m sorry for the pain, but it’s already in motion. I should have Simon’s body by nightfall.”
